Links & Books

RESOURCES

Hate Crimes

Federal Bureau of Investigation: Hate Crime StatisticsOn April 23, 1990, Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act, which requires the Attorney General to collect data "about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity." This website lists all statistics collected by the FBI about hate crimes in the United States. You can search for hate crimes in your area, number of crimes over a certain period of time and more.

Matthew Shepard FoundationDennis and Judy Shepard founded the foundation in memory of their 21-year-old son, Matthew, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in 1998. Since then, the Matthew Shepard Foundation has worked tirelessly against hate, especially in the areas of education and youth organizing. The website for the organization provides ways to get involved, more information about how to fight hate crimes and timely updates on the status of the Matthew Shepard Act, a hate crime bill passed by the House of Representatives in April 2009.

The New York Times: Hate CrimesThis special section from The New York Times includes articles and commentary published about the topic. Check back to read new articles, including updates on the Matthew Shepard Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives in May 2009 and awaits a vote in the Senate.

The New York Times: Hate Crimes and Extremist PoliticsThe murders of an abortion doctor in Wichita, Kan., and a museum guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum within weeks of each other in 2009 raised new questions about hate crimes and extremist politics. In this special section, The New York Times invited legal experts to discuss and debate whether the law should place tighter restrictions on hate speech and websites.

Civilrights.org: Confronting the New Faces of Hate: Hate Crimes in America 2009(PDF)This report, compiled by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund in 2009, provides a thorough summary of the type, frequency and reach of hate crimes in the United States. The report also points out that the FBI undercounts the number of hate crimes, and it offers recommendations to reduce hate crimes.

Books

Hate Crime. Nathan Hall. (Oregon:Willan Publishing, 2005)Criminologist Nathan Hall explores the meaning of hate crimes and the ways in which the police and criminal justice systems respond to such crimes. This book includes chapters on policing hate crime in such places as London, New York and Philadelphia.

Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader. Edited by Barbara Perry. (New York: Routledge, 2003)This is an extremely comprehensive anthology that examines hate groups from a global perspective. In addition, authors analyze the current rise in terrorism.

The French National Front: The Extremist Challenge to Democracy. Harvey G. Simmons. (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1996)This clear and comprehensive study follows the development of the French National Front and outlines the group's extreme-right politics.

Justice and Reconciliation

Restorative Justice OnlineRestorative justice is a theory that emphasizes repairing harm caused by criminal behavior. Find out more about mediation, victim assistance and the restorative justice model on this extensive website.

The Fetzer InstituteThis private foundation focuses on fostering awareness of love and the power of forgiveness in the emerging global community. The group's website provides links to descriptions of numerous programs, as well as a resources section that includes research materials, publications and interview transcripts.

National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children (POMC)This organization, which has chapters in all 50 states, supports and assists the family and friends of homicide victims through advice from other survivors, help navigating the criminal justice system and grief counseling. The POMC website provides a list of local chapters, a forum, an Ask the Experts section and more.

Books

Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy. Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, David L. Weaver-Zercher. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007)This work of non-fiction explores forgiveness in the Amish community after a gunman killed five children and wounded another five in a Nickel Mines, Pa., schoolhouse in 2006. The book chronicles the families' journeys toward forgiveness for the killer and his family.

PBS and NPR

PBS

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly: Religion and Hate CrimesAn 88-year-old white supremacist known for his hatred of Jews and African Americans shot and killed a security guard this week (June 10) at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and Protestant groups quickly denounced the attacks, and the next day leaders of many faiths held a vigil outside the museum, where they pledged a new commitment to fighting bigotry and injustice. Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of Ohev Sholom, the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Washington, D.C., talks about hate crimes. (June 12, 2009)

NOW: What's Next for Gay Americans?Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, talks to NOW about his hopes for the future of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community following recent setbacks at the polls. (Week of Dec. 5, 2008)

The Online NewsHour: Generation Next: Speak Up Be HeardJudy Woodruff travels across the United States and speaks with adults 16 to 25 years old to gauge their opinions on a variety of issues. Viewers meet Josh Delsman, an 18-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who reluctantly revealed he was a homosexual at age 14 after a friend told middle school officials and those officials informed his parents. (Sept. 5, 2007)

Not In Our TownNot In Our Town is a national movement that encourages community response to hate crimes. The project combines PBS broadcast, grassroots events, educational outreach and online activities to help communities battling hate talk to -- and learn from -- each other. Since 1995, Not In Our Town has chronicled positive community organizing stories and provided practical tools to stimulate dialogue.

NPR

News and Notes: Report: Alarming Spike in Growth of Hate GroupsLast December, three men attacked an Ecuadorian immigrant and his brother as the two walked through the Bushwick section of Brooklyn in New York City. The alleged attackers hurled ethnic and gay slurs and brandished beer bottles and a baseball bat. The reported attack left one brother brain dead. He later died. His accused killers are now facing charges of second degree murder as a hate crime. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups has increased by more than 50 percent since 2000. For insight, Tony Cox speaks with Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project. (March 3, 2009)

Tell Me More: Brutal Sexual Assault Renews Focus on Hate CrimesA community is still recovering from the brutal gang rape of a lesbian woman in Richmond, Calif. LaDoris Cordell, a human rights activist and retired judge, Rhonda James of Community Violence Solutions and Jenelle Forde, an openly gay elementary school teacher in Washington, D.C., discuss hate crimes and how to stop them. (Feb. 2, 2009)

News and Views: Black, Gay Communities Collide Over Gay MarriageAs a response to the controversy over California's Prop 8, Farai Chideya moderates a conversation about race and sexual identity, the proposition's impact on American politics and the future of coalition building between black people and gay people. (Nov. 13, 2008)

Weekend Edition: Ten Years Later, Shepard Case Haunts ReportersMatthew Shepard's murder in 1998 ignited a firestorm of media coverage for months, changing the small town of Laramie, Wyo. forever. But it also had a profound effect on the journalists assigned to the story: The brutality of the crime haunts many of them to this day, and several of them say it has changed the course of their lives. (Oct. 12, 2008)

Election 2008: Democratic Candidates Share in Gay Rights ForumIn 2007, nearly all of the Democratic candidates for president appeared in Los Angeles for a debate-style forum on gay rights. The event -- a first for a national-level campaign -- was sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and carried on the LOGO cable television channel, which broadcasts programming geared toward a gay audience. (Aug. 10, 2007)